Tufted structures



y 9, 1961 P. M.COL.E 2,983,028

TUFTED STRUCTURES File d June 2, 1959 NEEDLES YARN c;

BACKING MEMBER BRACING WEB AUXILIARY NEEDLE PLATE INVENTOR PAUL MORRISON COLE ATTORNEY tional carpets while utilizing less pile per unit area.

, bracing member.

TUFI'ED STRUCTURES Paul Morrison Cole, Wilmington, Del., assignor to E. L du Pont de Nemours and Company, Wilmington, Del., a corporation of Delaware Filed June 2, 1959, Ser. No. 817,585 v '1 Claim. (Cl. 28-78) It is an object of this invention to provide an improved carpet and other products having a novel tufted structure. Another object is to provide an improved carpet with a greater apparent depth and luxuriousness than conven- Another object is to provide a process for producing the .above products. Other objects will become apparent from a description of the invention given below.

The above objects are accomplished by providing a tufted article comprising a backing member, pile yarn tuftedinto said backing member, and a bracing web parallel to the backing member and intermediate the backing member and the peaks of the pile yarn and connecting the pile yarn at or below the midpoints in the height of the pile yarn, preferably from /3 to /2 the height of the pile.

Figure I illustrates the product of this inventionand a procedure for producing it.

The backing member may be any dimensionally stable sheet material including woven, knitted and non-woven fabrics of natural or synthetic fibers, such as burlap," cotton, sisal, wool, rayon, polyamides, polyesters, acrylo I nitrile polymers and copolymers, vinyl chloride polymers and copolymers, cellulose acetate, glass, metal, paper, and

other stabilizing materials such as films, papers, felts, etc.

1 The bracing web is positioned at the desired distance i from the backing member while the tufts of pile yarn are carriedv through both of these layers. The bracing web serves to hold the pile erect so that the. load-bearing United States Patent ability of the carpet or other structure and the apparent height of the pile are increased. Better compressional properties and aesthetics with less' pile yarn are, thereby made possible by the novel structure employing-the This bracing member will usually be alightweight web which may be a knitted,v fabric, a' woven fabric, or a non-woven fabric or paper. i l

- A lightweight nylon woven marquisette has been found particularly suitable as the bracingmember'and performs best when treated with a binder to inhibit the stretching,

, ofneedle holes. The binder may be prepared by making ,a 5 %"by weight solution of polyamide resin in methanol.

A nylon marquisette as bracingmember willgiveparticularly advantageous results when used in the novel structure in combination with a nylon pile yarn. Not only...

will dyeing problems; be simplified. but the marquisette be left as such or may be cut in the usual manner.

satisfactory compressional properties.

web gives strength, mildew resistance, and life comparable to that of the pile yarn.

The pile yarn used in this invention may be either spun yarn or continuous filament yarn, and the fibers, yarns, and fabrics used in the invention may be made from any one of a number of well-known materials such as polyamides (e.g., polyhexamethylene adipamide); copolyamides; polyesters (e.g. polyethylene terephthalate); acrylic polymers and copolymers (e.g., polyacrylonitrile); cellulose derivatives such as cellulose acetate and regenerated cellulose; and the like. Bulked pile yarns are preferred because of better covering properties using less yarn. Suitable bulked yarns may be made according to the methods described by A. L. Breen in U.S. Patent 2,783,609, in U.S. application Serial No. 375,372, filed August 20, 1953, now Patent No. 2,852,906 granted September 23, 1958, by A. L. Breen, and in U.S. application Serial No. 698,103, filed November 22, 1957, by A. L.

3mm and, H. G. Lauterbach. Other suitable bulked yarns include those commercially available under the names of Helenca, Banlon, Flufion, Saaba, and the like. Sheath-core yarns can also be used for the pile.

In preparing the novel structures of this invention a conventional tufting machine may be modified to provide an auxiliary needle plate at a predetermined distance from the backing fabric (i.e., the distance from the top of the conventional needle plate to the top of the auxiliary needle plate is set equal to the distance desired between the backing fabric and the bracing web). The auxiliary needle plate supports the bracing Web at the desired distance from the backing fabric while the needles of the tufting machine force pile yarn first through .the backing then through the bracing web, forming loops on the under side of the bracing web. These loops may The distance between the bracing web and the backing fabric may be controlled by adjusting the spacing between the auxiliary needle plate and the conventional needle plate.

In addition to employing a single layer as bracing member in the novel structures of this invention, the

tufting machine may be accommodated with additional .auxiliary needle plates so that two or more bracing webs may be incorporated into the structure.

described above, the products of this invention may be prepared using alternate structures for additional end uses. For example, a bulked continuous filament nylon 'may be tufted through a burlap backing and a nylon marquisette fabric in the manner already described, .except that the marquisette bracing fabric is positioned at an elevation close to the peaks of the tufts. The

product may be dyed and then heat set for 10 minutes in-240 F. steam. Upon removal of the marquisette layer, the product is found to have tufts with tight, welldefined peaks providing a desirable texture of good permanence. The yarn that has been unconfined below the marquisette layer has excellent covering power and A similar textured carpet but with greater permanence may be obtained by eliminating the heat setting operation just described and instead applying 'a 30% by weight solution of polyamide resin in methanol to'the tuft peaks. The marquisette layer 'is then removed after partial evaporation of the methanol.

; 'A carpetmay also be prepared with two bracing webs,

one at approximately one-half the .pile height for im- 7 1v provement of compressional properties, and onellocated temporarily near the peaks of thetufts, in the manner described above 'in making atextured carpet. Thesetwo of this invention.

, thesame weights of pile yarn into aburlap backing bracing'webs isolate each tuft of pile yarn from its neighbors and permit the hand printing of colored patterns. The tufts may be properly held in registration to, facilitate roller printing of multiple color designs without the diffusion normally associated with s'uch ractice. After printing, the top bracing web may be remqve and e v i A Venetian blind may be prepared by tufting widely spaced rows of nylon pile yarn through two bracing 'webs of nylon marquisette woven fabric held at a distarice of three-fourths of an inch apart. Pile loops of minimum size formed on one exterior marquisette fabric are secured, and the pile yarn rows are stiffened by a light application of polyamide resin in methanol. When this structure is positioned with the marquisette bracing web s in a vertical position and the tuft rows in horizontal planes, the product serves as a textile Venetian blind. The pile yarn planes may be tilted by shifting the relative positions of the marquisette webs so as to modify the-transmission of light.

An important advantage of this invention is the provision of new carpet and other structures which employ less pile yarn and provide better compressional properties than carpet structures heretofore known. These new structures are cheaper than conventional pile carpets in that less of the most expensive ingredient (i.e., the pile) is employed in their construction. Another advantage is the provision of a carpet structure with a better definition of pile in that each pile yarn has less tendency to mat, as well as a structure which is more adaptable to dyeing and printing when employing nylon in both bracing member and pile yarn. Furthermore,

the novel carpet structures exhibit equal recovery from a variety of applications such as carpeting and rugs,

other floor cushioning articles, seat cushioning materials, apparel and industrial fabrics, automobile interior applications, Venetian blinds, and the like.

The following example illustrates specific embodiments All parts are by weight unless otherwise specified. The pile yarn illustrated in the example is a bulky continuous filament 'yarn prepared by the process described by Breen and Lauterbach in U.S. application Serial No. 698,103 filed November 22, 1957.

'Three ends of 1000 denier/ 68 filaments of polyhexamethylene adipamide semi-dull luster yarn were used, 'the filaments of which were drawn 4X and had a Y cross section with a modification ratio of 2.2. This yarn -was processed through the jet shown in Figure 7 of that application using steam as the turbulent fluid. The processing conditions for preparing this bulky yarn simulated those used in Run Nof'Sin Table V on page64 of said application. 'The' yarn having a total twist of -0.5 Z is fed to the jet at a speed of 200 yards/minute I Two samples of tufted carpet (A and B) are prepared in accordance with this invention by tufting bulky continuous filament nylon yarn into a lightweight burlap backing and then through a woven nylon marquisette bracing web weighing 0.9 ounce/squareyard, employing different weights of pile yarn in the two samples. The

bracing web 'in the carpet is positioned inch above the backing fabric, and the pile height is approximately inchiaoove the backing. Two identically ponstructed conventional tufted carpets (C and D) are prepared as.

'control samples. These controls are madeby tu-fting 4t out using any bracing web. The four carpet samples are compared using the same Instron compression test.

The results given in Table I show that the l4-ounce carpet of this invention has a better set of characteristics than the 19-ounce conventional tufted control sample, made with exactly the same pile yarn. Initial softness in the control sample is exchanged in the tufted sample of this invention for greater thickness, higher recovery, increased compressibility, and improved bottoming-effect. Samples A and B. also have increased luxuriousness indicated by a higher input of work (i.e., total work of compression) which measurements correlate with subjective appraisals of the four carpet samples. A desirable carpet is one which provides maximum support to the foot or other load applied while the carpet is yielding to the compressive forces of the load. After the application of the initial 6-pound load in the carpet compression test, it is desirable to have a maximum amount of compressibility left for the second compressive 'cycle. Therefore, the higher the bottoming effect, the better the carpet properties, in the data shown in the table.

- foot.

Table I Total Oz. Pile Bottomlng Work of Sample Carpet Yarn/Sq. Effect Compres- Thickness Yd. (in.) sion (in.

(111.) lbs./sq.1n.)

F. for a minimum of two hours and then conditioned at 70 F. and 50% relative humidity for at least 16 hours prior to testing at atmospheric temperature and pressure. The tests are performed using the Instron tester, a constant rate strain tensile tester. A circular steel presser foot inch diameter) is attached to a cross head traveling at 0.2 inch per minute. The carpet sample (six inches square) is placed on a compression cell and the load applied to the carpet by the moving presser Compression data are automatically recorded on a graph (i.e., load and distance) and with the utilization of an automatic integrator, the total workof compression (area under loading curve) in inch pounds per squarc' irich of carpet can be calculated using simple conversion factors. In carpet compression characteri'z'ation,a carpet sample is compressed under a pressure -limit of 10 p.s.i. for two successive cycles with a relaxation time of seconds between cycles (time in which carpet'is notunder any compression). The first cycle is used tocondition the sample and the actualcharacterizatio'n test parameters of work of compression and hottoming effect are taken from the second cycle. Using the second cycle the work of compression in inch pounds per, square inch of carpetis calculated. Using the second cycle the actual compression of the carpet between 6 p.s.i. and 10 p.s.i. is calculated and reported in inches as the bottoming effect.

backing member and passing through the bracing sheet at'between V3 and /z of the height of the pile tufts, saidbracingsheet being resiliently supported solely by rti ttess- -sus ens f 1 v 5 References Cited in the file of this patent 2,719,542 UNITED STATES PATENTS 2748446 1,012,356 Hoff Dec. 19, 1911 2,072,152 Blake et a1. Mar. 2, 1937 5 8,185 2,132,530 Greiser Oct. 11, 1938 593,532

' 6 MacIntyre Oct. 4, 1955 Mason June 5, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 7 Great Britain June 21, 1886, France May 29, 1925 

